Late fees during the pandemic

[Dave Rav]

We are now 3-4 months into the COVID-19 crisis.  Thankfully, all our tenants continue to pay rent.  A few have been late.  One in particular, has been provided an extended grace period at least 3 times during the past 6 months.  By this I mean zero late fees applied.  Last month they were 12 days late and I told them next month we need rent on-time, in the window of the normal 5-day grace period, or they would be charged a late fee.  This month, it is looking like they will not be compliant paying on-time.  Last I heard, both income earner tenants were still employed.  (one is a trucker and the other works for the county)  I am charging them the $50 late.  Am I being too aggressive or insensitive?

[Jeff Copeland]

If your state moratorium on evictions has been lifted, that just means that owners of "non-covered” properties can return to normal and file evictions.

Evictions on "covered" properties are still banned by federal law.

See: https://evict.com/?page=video_... for a ton of legal resources and opinions. Obviously ignore the state-specific stuff if you aren't in Florida, but the covered vs. non-covered issue is nationwide.